Authors: Adam Moon
Orbit
Jack must’ve been feeling particularly vindictive
. He made Michael get inside the double-wide oven in the kitchen and then he latched the doors shut. He said, “If you’re lucky, I might not turn it on.” Then he turned the burners on for a few seconds to put the fear of God into him.
Michael was whimpering like a child when they left him. A terrible part of Sarah wished they could just cook him to death and be done with him for good. He was more trouble than he was worth.
When they came back into the command station Jane was flirting with Jason as she filled him in on the situation. She said, “We’ve been in flight for less than two hundred years,” as she ran her knuckles across his shoulder.
He tried to hide his discomfort
, but they could see it all over his face. He laid a hand on her back and whispered, “Then we still have a long journey ahead of us. You’d better go back into stasis before we lose even more pods.”
Sarah was relieved to see a hint of compassion and diplomacy from the stranger. Up until a few minutes ago, none of them
had even known he existed. The unknown always made her uncomfortable.
Jane nodded
, but it was obvious she enjoyed the physical contact. She was smiling ear to ear as she went below deck.
It was an odd sight, especially since she had put the pod saboteur off the ship only minutes before Michael had went on his rampage
, killing those colonists. Maybe Jane was a sociopath? It was hard to tell, but she sure seemed unaffected by the fact she’d murdered someone recently. Then again, any of them would have gladly done the same thing. A saboteur could not be tolerated on a mission to ensure the survival of the human race. Sarah hoped she’d at least feel some remorse over it though.
Jason said, “So far there haven’t been any more violent overtures
, but Molly detected a faint heat signature on the opposite side of the planet, so we’re headed there. If the attack was just a fluke or an anomaly, and the heat signature ends up being something natural, then we’ll get back on with the mission. Until then, I only ask that you both trust my judgment.”
Jack said, “I doubt it was a fluke. We showed up and right away a missile was launched at us. That’s a sign of life if ever there was one.”
Sarah didn’t like where this was going. She had the lonely feeling that no one cared about the mission besides her.
Jason said to Jack, “That could have just been an automated defense mechanism. I was trained to watch for stuff like that.”
“You mean a computer might have decided to fire at us?”
“Exactly. Look at the planet. It’s a frozen dark ice ball. We’re not going to find anything alive down there
, certainly nothing with higher intelligence.”
Sarah was glad to hear that. The last thing she wanted was to spend time trying to figure out an alien race. It wasn’t that she wasn’t intrigued, because she was.
But she’d been programmed to put the seed planet first, above all distractions. She was focused on one thing and only one thing. When the ship came under attack, she was ill-equipped to make an informed decision. Only then did Jason Rodriguez’s inclusion in the mission make sense to her. To train her to operate the weapons systems would have split her loyalties. Likely, that was why she had been kept in the dark about them. But she still felt betrayed. And worse than that was the fact that this stranger now outranked her.
She said with authority, “How long until we’re done with this nonsense? I’d like to get back to the mission as soon as possible.”
“They told me you were driven. We’ll know in about an hour. Then the ship’s all yours.”
“It’s still my ship
, sir. Just because Molly says you’re captain doesn’t mean a thing to me or my crew.”
Jack nodded an affirmative
, but it was half-assed. He was clearly enjoying Jason’s company.
Jason said, “I understand
, Captain. I’m only here to help, but until I’m finished I expect you to do as I tell you.”
“Of course
, Captain. Sorry for the outburst.”
“Don’t be. I’d be pissed too.”
First Contact
The ship’s voice came over the loudspeakers, but there was a demented quality to it. Its words were jumbled, all running together. It was a distortion of the monotone male voice and the sexy female voice … and something else too. The lights flickered and the engine cut off for a split second.
Sarah almost shit her pants.
Jason yelled, “Status update, Molly.”
The ship struggled to respond. Then its voice came out crisp and eloquent
, but it was odd.
It was a male voice
, but it wasn’t the right male voice. It certainly wasn’t the ship anymore.
It said, “I am not a threat. Are you a threat to me?”
Jason looked around at Jack and Sarah before responding. “We mean you no harm. But if we’re attacked again we will destroy your planet.”
The last part was a bluff. Jason knew they didn’t have weaponry that diabolical.
The ship said, “Good. I apologize for the missile launched at your vessel. I had no idea any of those were still operational.”
Jason said, “I don’t know if I believe that
, but we’ll give you the benefit of the doubt.”
The voice said, “I have scanned your ship
’s computer. I have learned your language and habits. I understand you are humans from a dying planet called Earth, on a mission to colonize a new world. I would like to come aboard and introduce myself personally.”
“
Forget that,” barked Sarah.
B
ut Jason said over the top of her, “That will be fine, but you’ll have to get here yourself. We won’t waste fuel on a landing and another launch.”
“I will be in close proximity in less than one minute.”
“We’ll open an airlock for you. If you arrive armed or pose any threat to us, you’ll be killed immediately.”
“I understand.”
Jason held his hand out at Sarah, and when she failed to understand what he wanted, he whispered, “Give me my gun back.”
The ship said, “That won’t be necessary
, Captain Rodriquez. If you could open the airlock, I’m here now.”
Sarah said, “Shit.” If she w
ere still in control, there was no way they would be picking up an alien creature that had just fired upon them.
Jason grabbed the gun from Sarah but he didn’t holster it. He led the way to the airlock.
For the first time, Sarah looked at Jack. Rather than showing any sign of fear or apprehension, he looked positively excited by the prospect of meeting the alien.
Alien
The first thing that confused Sarah when the airlock was opened was the fact that the alien was humanoid. That wasn’t what scientists imagined when they set about trying to figure out what an alien might look like. Humanoid aliens were for the movies, not reality. But more surprising was that the alien wasn’t wearing a spacesuit or breathing apparatus of any kind.
Jason’s gun was raised as the creature strode from the airlock.
It was as tall as a man
, but its skin was so black and shiny that it looked to be made of polished obsidian. Its head was featureless, with no eyes or ears or mouth or nose to speak of. And it wasn’t a mammal, as its skin was perfectly smooth and hairless.
It was naked but there was no sign of genitalia, male or female.
Then it transformed before their eyes. Jason’s hand tightened around the gun. His finger twitched towards the trigger, but he didn’t discharge the weapon just yet.
Its head transformed the most. A wide slit appeared where the mouth should be. Eye sockets s
ank in and a mock nose began to protrude. The transformation was quick and precise. Within thirty seconds, the creature looked like a human being, sans male genitals and body hair.
It opened its mouth and said, “I have taken on your likeness to help put you at ease.” The voice was deep and calming.
“Thanks,” said Jack.
Jason said, “You’re not biological
, are you? Only a construct could do what you just did.”
“I am biological
, Captain Rodriguez. But I was constructed too. I was created by the long-dead peoples of the planet below. I was able to survive while they all perished as I can adapt to any environment very quickly. But I am a living organism.”
Sarah joined the conversation despite the fact that the creature made her skin crawl. “So you were genetically modified in a lab?”
“Well, not exactly, but something like that.”
“Why did you want to meet with us?”
“I was rather hoping I could hitch a ride to the seed planet with you.”
Sarah was about to ask how it knew of the seed planet
, but then she remembered it had interfaced with Molly, the ship’s computer, and had scanned all the files.
Jason said, “We’re not giving out rides
, buddy.”
“I can be very useful. I’m infinitely strong, incredibly industrious, and I don’t need a stasis pod because I don’t age. I can fix the exterior of the ship if it receives damage without the aide of a suit. I can monitor you as you sleep
, and make certain you get to the planet alive. I understand you’ve experienced some difficulties so far in the mission. If I had been here during those troubles, none of them would have come to fruition.”
Jack said, “Huh? Immortal and indestructible? Those are some attributes we could definitely make use of.” He was clearly pondering the benefits of having this creature aboard.
Jason said, “Let’s go sit down in the command station where it’s comfortable.”
But if he really wanted to comfort the alien he would have lowered his gun.
The alien said as an aside, “That weapon is useless. I can not die.”
Jason said, “The gun stays out. We don’t know you enough to trust you.”
“Of course.”
As they walked, Sarah asked, “What’s your name?”
“You can call me whatever you like. I’ve been given many names, but none that would roll off your tongue very easily.”
Jack said, “Then I vote to call you Crusoe.”
The alien smiled, but the smile had no warmth to it. The alien had probably never had to smile before.
It said, “Yes. As in Robinson Crusoe. I understand the comparison. As he was stranded on an island for a long time, I too was stranded on my planet.”
Jason asked, “How could you possibly know about Robinson Crusoe? Does Molly have that book in her database?”
“The ship has many books, plays, movies, and anecdotal histories in her stores. That is why I speak your language and look like you. That is also why I know you’ll take me with you.”
Crusoe
They all got as comfortable as possible in the command station. Jason gave up the captain's chair to Crusoe.
Jack asked, "How did you get here so quickly after talking to us through the ship
’s computer?"
"I was already headed here by the time I opened up that line of communication. The vehicle that propelled me out of the atmosphere has already fallen back and burned up."
"What if we'd told you ‘No, you can't come aboard?’"
"Then I would have gone back to my planet."
"You would've burned up on reentry though, right?"
"No. I told you, I adapt quickly to any environment. That's why I was able to withstand the vacuum of space. It's also why I'd be able to withstand reentry."
Sarah interrupted. "What makes you so sure we'll take you with us?"
"I think if it was up to you, I'd be headed back home right now. In fact, I might not have been permitted entry to this vessel in the first place. You don't trust me. You want the mission to resume as quickly as possible. But Captain Rodriguez is intrigued by me
, and Mr. Mayberry would struggle internally if he had to send me back, to live on that planet all alone for eternity."
Jack nodded
, although he had no idea how Crusoe had ascertained that about him. Maybe there were hints of his compassionate side in his psych profile stored in the ship's computer.
Jason said, "I'm curious about you
, but I'm not stupid. If you're a threat in any way, my mind can be changed in a heartbeat."
Crusoe nodded
, and as he did so, Sarah saw subtle changes in his appearance. His eyes got big and doe-like. His face became more rounded at the edges, and his posture relaxed. He was hunched over with his head tilted slightly down, staring up with his new soulful eyes.
She yelled, "Cut that shit out. I know what you're doing. You're adapting by making yourself appear less threatening. That behavior in
and of itself could be construed as a threat."
Crusoe put his hands up defensively and said, "I don't always have control over what my body does. It's trying to put you at ease so you come to trust me."
"Well, it creeps me out."
"I'll try to limit the physical changes while I'm
on board."
"We still haven't decided if we’re going to let you stay. A missile was launched at us from your planet. I hold you responsible for the attack.”
“That was a defense mechanism put in place eons ago. I thought they had all been rendered useless by the passage of time. I apologize for that and I regret that it happened.”
“Yeah, well
, for a first contact it sure seemed aggressive.”
“For that, I’m sorry.”